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Double Bass Yet another EUB build (but my first)!

#21
Ok, I've officially run into my first problem. I bought some supe long D'Addario Chromes believing that they would be long enough. They are long enough to reach the tuning machines, but the silks come past the nut about 1 inch. I measured and I need the strings to be 40 inches from tailpiece to nut. Apparently the chromes are 39"

Any suggestions of longer strings? Do I need to buy half size DB strings?
 
#22
Maybe 1/4 size strings for upright. I use 1/2 size for my Azola Lightning Bug, which is 41" from bridge to nut and the silks approach getting on the bridge. I'm afraid at 37" you're in that weird zone in between the standard bass guitar and upright string lengths and you'll probably have a rough time getting the right string to fit. Be prepared to shell out double what you're used to for upright strings - but it's "experimental" right? Maybe we need more of that - good luck!

Ike
 
#25
David Webb said:
Nice job. I am in awe of the tone in your recording. My EUB is more bass guitar sounding. What pu are you using?
David
Click to expand...

Thanks David, I'll try to take some more detailed pictures of the pickup system and post them up in the next few days. The pickup is essentially just a piezo element run through the vol/tone preamp from an Ibanex Srx400 and out through a regular old 1/4 inch jack.

I think the tone comes from the situation of the piezo. I've encased it in high density foam and it sits between the bridge and body. It sounded much more like a BG when I had it mounted to the underside of the bridge, but when I sandwiched it in the foam (which I cut from packaging from a fancy pen that my wife got at work) and under the bridge the tone improved. Then I flipped it over so that the side I had soldered to was closer to the body and that is the sound you hear.

here's a close up of the encased piezo. There is about 1/16th of an inch of HD foam on either side of it (and a little high class electrical tape making sure the wire is solidly attached) The piezo element itself came out of a little hand held video game that came in a happy meal. They also sell these games at wal-mart for 99 cents which beats the going rate at Radio Shack of $3.

3050594461_a604a70a01_b.jpg


Here's the preamp and battery installed:

3050595333_bcb428fa16_b.jpg


More HD foam holding the battery.

I will say that the preamp did wonders for the sound. Giving it a nice even bass boost and smoothing out the tone. If I ever make another I'll reverse engineer a copy of this preamp for use in that EUB as well.

peace
 
#27
Masterquack said:
I hate sounding like an idiot, but if the strings your using now are working... why not just buy a new set of those?
Click to expand...

well, "working" is relative. Yes they were long enough to reach from the tailpeice to the tuning keys, but the silks hung over the nut about 1 - 1.25 inches making playing F, Bb, Eb, and Ab in the first position impossible. I thought about trimming the silk back, but the taper itself began before the nut.

I now have some half size DB strings on it (although they're a bit long - I could probably go 1/4 size) and they sound great.

I'd post another sound test, but currently it's disassembled as I'm staining and finishing the wood.
 
#31
Here are some final pics.

First, a more detailed pic of the piezo. I was trying not to overheat the element and so my soldering is less than exemplary, but it works. Beside it is the foam that the element is sandwiched between.

3115996272_5e75a2f12f.jpg


And now, the completed project:

3115996656_9838217787_b.jpg


I've still got a little bit of setup work to do to dial in the intonation, but I hope to have sound clips by the weekend.
 

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